Receiver and receiving system and method

ABSTRACT

A receiver and a receiving system capable of obtaining content related information corresponding to a retrieval key are provided. When a retrieval instruction is performed by a user, a retrieval key setting section sets the artist name of a musical piece provided by a program being received as a retrieval key. A related information retrieval section obtains program content data added to distribution information of another program, and retrieves content related information (for example, information such as the scheduled date of the sale of a new musical piece) corresponding to the retrieval key set by the retrieval key setting section. When the content related information corresponding to the retrieval key is extracted, a display processing section creates image data for displaying the extracted content related information and displays the image data on a display section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a receiver and to a receivingsystem and method for retrieving selected information distributed in abroadcasting format.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Recently, digital broadcasting, wherein video signals and audiosignals are converted into digital form, has been put into practicaluse. For example, CS (Communication Satellite) digital broadcasts, BS(Broadcasting Satellite) digital broadcasts, and digital broadcasts suchas digital audio broadcasting (DAB) in Europe, have been used. Digitalbroadcasts have various advantages, such as video and audio being formedwith high quality, multiple channels and the distribution of varioustypes of incidental information concerning programs being broadcast.

[0005] Generally, digital broadcasts contain incidental informationrelated to the content of the program in addition to program informationsuch as video and audio. Thus, when viewing a program, it is possible toview information related to the content of the program and to retrievebroadcasting channels which are broadcasting a program of a similargenre to the presently viewed program or a program of the sameperformer.

[0006] However, where one wishes to obtain related informationcorresponding to a particular artist A (artist A), the user must performthe following operation: (1) retrieve broadcasting channels which arebroadcasting a program related to the artist A; (2) designating eachbroadcasting channel that has been retrieved; and (3) displaying theinformation related to artist A on the basis of the incidentalinformation added to the distribution information of the designatedbroadcasting channel. Conventionally, it is inconvenient for a user tocollect content related information in multiple broadcast channels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a receiver and areceiving system capable of easily obtaining content related informationcorresponding to a retrieval key. Where related informationcorresponding to a retrieval key is retrieved by using distributioninformation of a plurality of broadcasting channels received as targets(sources of information), the receiving section receives thedistribution information containing program information and incidentalinformation related to the content of the program information. When aretrieval key is specified by the operation section of the receiver, theretrieval section designates a broadcasting channel having theincidental information containing the retrieval key and retrieves thecontent related information contained in the incidental informationcorresponding to the broadcasting channel. The display section displaysthe content related information retrieved from the incidentalinformation corresponding to one or more broadcasting channels. Byspecifying a retrieval key, related information corresponding to theretrieval key is retrieved from within the incidental informationcorresponding to one or more broadcasting channels and the contentsthereof are displayed. Thus, it is possible to easily obtain the contentrelated information corresponding to the predetermined retrieval keyfrom multiple broadcasting channels.

[0008] Preferably, the retrieval section retrieves one or morebroadcasting channels in which a retrieval key is contained in theincidental information by using the specified retrieval key, andretrieves content related information contained in each of thesebroadcasting channels. By retrieving broadcasting channels in which theretrieval key is contained in the incidental information and by checkingthe incidental information corresponding to these broadcasting channels,it is possible to efficiently collect the content related informationcorresponding to the retrieval key.

[0009] In the above-described incidental information, preferably thename of an artist and the related information corresponding to works ofthe artist are contained. Further, when the name of the artist isspecified as a retrieval key, the display section displays the works ofthe artist. As a result, by simply specifying the name of the artist, itis possible to easily obtain information on the works of the artist.

[0010] The receiving system of the present invention may comprise, inaddition to the above-described receiver, an external device including astorage medium having incidental information stored thereon. After theretrieval section retrieves the related information by using thedistribution information received by the receiver as a target, theretrieval section retrieves the related information by using theincidental information stored on the storage medium within the externaldevice as a target. As a result of using the incidental informationstored on the storage medium within the external device, a larger amountof related information can be collected.

[0011] In the receiving system of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the receiver is connected to a database containing theincidental information via a predetermined network, and after theretrieval section retrieves the related information by using thedistribution information received by the receiver as a target, theretrieval section retrieves the related information by using thedatabase as a target. Generally, since databases which are connected viaa network, such as the Internet, have stored therein a variety of typesof data, by specifying the database as a retrieval target, various kindsof related information can be collected.

[0012] The receiving system of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention may comprise, in addition to the receiver, an external deviceincluding a storage medium on which incidental information is stored,and the receiver may be connected to a database containing incidentalinformation via a predetermined network. After the retrieval sectionretrieves the related information by using the distribution informationreceived by the receiver as a target, the retrieval section retrievesthe related information by using the incidental information stored onthe storage medium within the external device as a target, and furtherretrieves the related information by using the database as a target. Inthe manner described above, by using an external device and a databasewhich is connected via a network as a retrieval target, a larger amountof useful related information can be collected.

[0013] In a case where the related information is retrieved by using anexternal device and a database which is connected via a network,preferably, the display section displays the related informationretrieved by the retrieval section in the retrieval sequence each timeof the retrieval. Also, when a time difference until a retrieval resultis obtained occurs due to the difference in the retrieval target, bydisplaying the retrieved related information in the retrieval sequenceeach time of the retrieval, it is possible to quickly provide therelated information to a user.

[0014] The receiving system may further comprise a confirmation sectionfor asking a user to confirm the capability of a retrieval beforerelated information is retrieved by using a database as a target when apayment obligation of a fee occurs during communication via a network.Preferably, the retrieval section retrieves the related information byusing the database as a target when the execution of a retrieval isinstructed by the confirmation section. As a result, it is possible forthe user to select whether he or she wishes to retrieve the relatedinformation by using an external database as a target if it will requirepayment of a communication fee.

[0015] The receiving system may further comprise a confirmation sectionfor asking a user to confirm the capability of a retrieval of therelated information using the database as a target before a paymentobligation of an additional fee occurs in a case where a free charge ora fixed charge is set regarding within a predetermined range and apayment obligation of an additional fee occurs when this predeterminedrange is exceeded during communication via the network. In a case wherethe predetermined range is exceeded, preferably, the retrieval sectionretrieves the related information by using the database as a target onlywhen a retrieval has been instructed by the confirmation section. As aresult, it is possible for the user to select whether he or she wishesto retrieve the related information by using an external database if itwill require payment of an additional fee.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016]FIG. 1 shows the construction of a receiver according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

[0017]FIG. 2 shows the detailed contents of program content datacontained in distribution information;

[0018]FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of thereceiver when a retrieval key is set based on a program being receivedand related information is retrieved on the basis of this retrieval key;

[0019]FIG. 4 shows an example of the display of the related information;

[0020]FIG. 5 shows the configuration of a receiving system according toa second embodiment of the present invention;

[0021]FIG. 6 shows the construction of a receiver according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention;

[0022]FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of thereceiver when a retrieval key is set based on a program being receivedand related information is retrieved on the basis of this retrieval key;

[0023]FIG. 8 shows an example of the display of the related information;and

[0024]FIG. 9 shows another example of the display of the relatedinformation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025]FIG. 1 depicts a receiver according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention, which receives a digital audio broadcast. Receiver100 includes an antenna 1, a front-end (F/E) section 2, a signaldemodulation section 3, a program selection section 4, an audio decodingsection 5, a digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion section 6, an amplifier7, a speaker 8, a control section 9, an operation section 10, and adisplay section 11.

[0026] The front-end section 2 extracts components of a receivingfrequency corresponding to a desired broadcasting channel from thesignals received via the antenna 1, and performs frequency conversion onthese extracted signals in order to output an intermediate frequencysignal.

[0027] The signal demodulation section 3 converts the intermediatefrequency signal output from the front-end section 2 into digital dataand performs a predetermined demodulation process on the data, therebydemodulating transmission data.

[0028] The program selection section 4 performs a deinterleaving processon the transmission data outputted by the signal demodulation section 3in order to reconstruct the original data sequence. Next, the programselection section 4 performs a predetermined error detection andcorrection process, reconstructs program information (i.e. audio datacompressed by a predetermined method) corresponding to a plurality ofprograms, and extracts the program information corresponding to oneprogram in accordance with an instruction from the control section 9.

[0029] The audio decoding section 5 performs a decompression process onthe program information outputted by the program selection section 4 inorder to reconstruct the audio data, and outputs the reconstructed audiodata to the digital-to-analog conversion section 6. Thedigital-to-analog conversion section 6 converts the audio data outputtedby the audio decoding section 5 into an analog signal.

[0030] The amplifier 7 amplifies the analog signal output from thedigital-to-analog conversion section 6 in accordance with an instructionfrom the control section 9, and outputs the signal to the speaker 8. Thespeaker 8 outputs audio corresponding to the amplified audio signal.

[0031] The control section 9 controls the operation of the receiver 100.Specifically, the control section 9 performs processes, such as astation selection instruction for selecting a broadcasting channel andvolume adjustment of audio outputted by the speaker 8. The details of aretrieval key setting section 20, a related information retrievalsection 22, and a display processing section 24, provided inside thecontrol section 9, are described below.

[0032] The operation section 10 allows a user to perform variousoperation instructions, such as a selection of a broadcasting channel,and has various operation keys. The display section 11 displaysinformation such as, the program being received or the status of theoperation by the user.

[0033] Described below are the contents of a digital broadcast receivedby the receiver 100 of this embodiment. The distribution informationcontains program information and incidental information. As noted above,program information typically contains audio and video data, whileincidental information contains other predetermined program contentdata.

[0034]FIG. 2 shows an example of incidental information contained indistribution information. As shown in FIG. 2, this program content datamay contain data, such as:

[0035] a. “Artist” indicating the name of an artist who sings orperforms a musical piece which is broadcast in a program;

[0036] b. “Title” indicating the title of the musical piece;

[0037] c. “Album” indicating the name of the album on which the musicalpiece is recorded;

[0038] d. “Label” indicating the source company of the musical piece (orthe album on which this musical piece is recorded);

[0039] e. “Composer” indicating the producer of the musical piece;

[0040] f. “Comments” which are various types of information added to themusical piece as desired; and

[0041] g. “Promotional Texts 1 to 4” which are messages that are addedas desired, and in which information, such as the activities (forexample, the schedule of the sale of the new musical piece, and theholding schedule of a concert) of the artist.

[0042] Referring back to FIG. 1, if a predetermined retrievalinstruction is given by a user when a program is being received, theretrieval key setting section 20 within the control section 9 sets aretrieval key for retrieving information related to a program beingreceived at that time. For example, the name of the artist may be usedas the retrieval key.

[0043] The related information retrieval section 22 retrieves relatedinformation corresponding to the retrieval key set by the retrieval keysetting section 20. Specifically, the related information retrievalsection 22 obtains program content data, see e.g. FIG. 2, and retrievesrelated information corresponding to the retrieval key from within thedata which is mainly stored in the “Comments” and “Promotional Text”.

[0044] The display processing section 24 performs a process for creatingan image displayed on the display section 11. When various types ofrelated information are collected by the related information retrievalsection 22, an image by which the contents are displayed is created.

[0045] The antenna 1, the front-end section 2, the signal demodulationsection 3, the program selection section 4, and the control section 9correspond to the receiving section. The retrieval key setting section20 and the related information retrieval section 22 correspond to theretrieval section. The display section 11 and the display processingsection 24 correspond to the display section.

[0046]FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart showing the operation procedure of thereceiver 100 where a retrieval key is set based on a program beingreceived and related information is retrieved on the basis of thisretrieval key.

[0047] The retrieval key setting section 20 within the control section 9determines whether a predetermined retrieval instruction is performed bya user (act 100). When the retrieval instruction is performed, a YESdetermination is made, and a retrieval key is set in such a manner as tocorrespond to the program being received (act 101). For example, thename of the artist of a musical piece provided may be designated on thebasis of the program content data, and this artist name may be set asthe retrieval key.

[0048] When the retrieval key is set by the retrieval key settingsection 20, the related information retrieval section 22 obtains programcontent data of another program, and retrieves related informationcorresponding to the retrieval key (act 102). As described above, basedon the program content data on another program, related informationcorresponding to the retrieval key is extracted from within, such as,“Comments” and “Promotional Text”.

[0049] When the related information is extracted based on the retrievalkey, the display processing section 24 creates image data for displayingthe contents of the extracted related information, and displays theimage data on the display section 11 (act 103).

[0050]FIG. 4 shows an example of the display of the related information.As shown in FIG. 4, in a case where a program of channel 3 (CH003) isbeing received and the artist of the musical piece provided by thisprogram is “◯◯◯◯”, related information is extracted from within theprogram content data of another program by using this artist name “◯◯◯◯”as the retrieval key. In the example shown in FIG. 4, as the relatedinformation of the artist “◯◯◯◯”, activities, such as the sale date ofthe new album and the title, are extracted, and the contents are shownin the lower portion of the screen. If a large amount of relatedinformation that cannot be displayed on one screen is extracted, theother related information is displayed in sequence automatically or byperforming a predetermined operation instruction using the operationsection 10.

[0051] When a predetermined retrieval instruction is given by a userwhile a program is being received, the receiver 100 of the firstembodiment sets a retrieval key, e.g. an artist name, on the basis ofthe content of the program being received at that time, retrievesrelated information corresponding to the retrieval key from within theprogram content data (incidental information) contained in thedistribution information of another receivable broadcasting channel, anddisplays the contents. Therefore, the related information correspondingto the retrieval key can be easily obtained.

[0052] As described above, a retrieval process based on a retrieval keymay be performed by using the distribution information of a plurality ofbroadcasting channels, received by the receiver, as a target in order toretrieve related information. In addition to the broadcasting channelreceived by the receiver, related information may be retrieved by usingvarious external devices and external databases as targets.

[0053]FIG. 5 shows the configuration of a receiving system according toanother embodiment of the present invention. A receiving system 200comprises a receiver 100 a, an MD (Mini Disk) player 110, a DVD (DigitalVersatile Disk) player 120, a CD (Compact Disk) changer 130, an HD (HardDisk) drive 140, and a navigation device 150. These devices areinterconnected to each other via a bus 160. The receiving system 200 canbe connected to a web server 300 via a predetermined network 400. Thereceiving system 200 is connected to the network 400 via a mobile phone(not shown).

[0054] The receiver 100 a receives a digital broadcast and retrievesrelated information on the basis of a predetermined retrieval key in amanner similar to the receiver 100 of the above-described firstembodiment. Further, the receiver 100 a of this embodiment also controlsthe operation of each of the MD player 110, the DVD player 120, and theCD changer 130 on the basis of an operation instruction performed by auser, obtains video and audio played back by each device via the bus160, and performs video display and audio output.

[0055] The receiver 100 a also plays back compressed musical data, suchas MP3 (MPEG1 Audio Layer-3) files, and can obtain the compressedmusical data from a memory card 152 loaded into the navigation device150 in order to perform audio output. The detailed construction of thereceiver 100 a will be described later.

[0056] The MD player 110 plays back a musical piece recorded on an MDand transmits the playback data to the receiver 100 a via the bus 160.

[0057] The DVD player 120 plays back video and audio recorded on a DVDand transmits the playback data to the receiver 100 a via the bus 160.

[0058] The CD changer 130 is capable of loading a plurality of CDs. TheCD changer 130 plays back a musical piece recorded on one of the CDs andtransmits the playback data to the receiver 100 a via the bus 160.

[0059] The HD drive 140 stores compressed musical data, such asMP3files, and various types of data (for example, sightseeinginformation) used in the navigation device 150.

[0060] The navigation device 150 performs a predetermined navigationprocess, such as a map display process and a route searching/guidanceprocess, and the memory card 152, which is a portable storage medium,can be loaded into the navigation device 150. In this embodiment, adisplay screen, e.g., a map image, created by the navigation device 150is transmitted to the receiver 100 a via the bus 160, so that the mapimage is displayed on the display section provided in the receiver 100a. The navigation device 150 of this embodiment can externally obtainvarious types of data by using the memory card 152.

[0061] The web server 300 shown in FIG. 5 is used to set up a websitefor providing various types of information on the Internet, and has adatabase (DB) 310 in which various types of information are stored.

[0062]FIG. 6 shows the construction of the receiver 100 a of thisembodiment. The receiver 100 a shown in FIG. 6 basically has the sameconstruction as that of the receiver 100 of the above-described firstembodiment. The receiver 100 a comprises an antenna 1, a front-end (F/E)section 2, a signal demodulation section 3, a program selection section4, an audio decoding section 5, a digital-to-analog (D/A) conversionsection 6, an amplifier 7, a speaker 8, a control section 9 a, anoperation section 10, a display section 11, a bus communicationprocessing section 12, and a web communication processing section 13.

[0063] The control section 9 a controls the operation of the receiver100 a, performs operation control of an external device such as the MDplayer 110 and performs the process of playing back compressed musicaldata, such as MP3 files. The control section 9 a comprises a retrievalkey setting section 20, a related information retrieval section 22, adisplay processing section 24, an external-device retrieval section 26,a web retrieval section 28, and a connection confirmation section 30.

[0064] The external-device retrieval section 26, which is connected toan external device, such as the MD player 110, via the bus communicationprocessing section 12, performs a process of retrieving relatedinformation corresponding to a retrieval key by using an external deviceas a target on the basis of the retrieval key which is set by theretrieval key setting section 20.

[0065] Specifically, the external-device retrieval section 26 retrievesrelated information corresponding to the retrieval key from within theTOC (Table of Contents) information recorded on an MD loaded into the MDplayer 110. Furthermore, the external-device retrieval section 26 alsoretrieves related information corresponding to the retrieval key by thesame method as for the MD with regard to a DVD loaded into the DVDplayer 120 and a CD loaded into the CD changer 130. In addition, in acase where compressed musical data is stored in the HD drive 140 or inthe memory card 152 loaded into the navigation device 150, theexternal-device retrieval section 26 retrieves related informationcorresponding to the retrieval key on the basis of tag information(containing information related to the musical piece, such as the titleof the musical piece and the artist name) added to the compressedmusical data.

[0066] The web retrieval section 28, which is connected to the webserver 300 via the web communication processing section 13, retrievesrelated information corresponding to the retrieval key from withinvarious types of information stored in a DB 310.

[0067] The connection confirmation section 30 performs a process forasking a user to confirm the capability of the execution of a retrievalprocess when the web retrieval section 28 performs a retrieval of therelated information corresponding to the retrieval key. Whencommunication via the network 400 is to be performed, an obligation ofpayment, such as a communication fee and a connection fee to an Internetprovider, may occur. Therefore, prior to the process by the webretrieval section 28, the connection confirmation section 30 displays amessage for inquiring whether a retrieval of information is performedusing the web server 300 as a target on the display section 11, so thatthe capability of the retrieval process is confirmed by the user. Whenthe execution of the retrieval process is instructed from the user, theconnection confirmation section 30 permits the web retrieval section 28to perform the retrieval process.

[0068] The operation section 10 shown in FIG. 6 allows a user to performvarious operation instructions to the receiver 100 a, such as aselection of a broadcasting channel and to perform various operationinstructions to an external device such as the MD player 110, and hasvarious operation keys.

[0069] The display section 11 displays items such as, the information ona program being received, the status of the operation by the user, theoperating status of an external device, and a map image created by thenavigation device 150.

[0070] The bus communication processing section 12 performs acommunication process allowing the control section 9 a to transmit andreceive data with an external device, such as the MD player 110, via thebus 160.

[0071] The web communication processing section 13 performs acommunication process allowing the control section 9 a to transmit andreceive data with the web server 300 via the network 400.

[0072] The bus communication processing section 12, the webcommunication processing section 13, the related information retrievalsection 22, the external-device retrieval section 26, and the webretrieval section 28 correspond to the retrieval section. The MD player110, the DVD player 120, the CD changer 130, the HD drive 140, and thenavigation device 150 correspond to the external device. The connectionconfirmation section 30 corresponds to the confirmation section.

[0073]FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of thereceiver 100 a when a retrieval key is set based on a program beingreceived and related information is retrieved on the basis of thisretrieval key.

[0074] The retrieval key setting section 20 within the control section 9a determines whether a predetermined retrieval instruction is performedby a user (act 200). When a retrieval instruction is performed, a YESdetermination is made, and a retrieval key is set in such a manner as tocorrespond to the program which is being received (act 201). Similarlyto the above-described first embodiment, the artist name of the musicalpiece provided by the program being received is specified on the basisof the program content data, and this artist name is set as theretrieval key.

[0075] When the retrieval key is set by the retrieval key settingsection 20, the related information retrieval section 22 obtains theprogram content data of another program, and retrieves the relatedinformation corresponding to the retrieval key (act 202).

[0076] The external-device retrieval section 26 retrieves relatedinformation corresponding to the retrieval key by using an externaldevice such as the MD player 110 as a target (act 203).

[0077] The connection confirmation section 30 displays a predeterminedmessage on the display section 11, so that a determination is made as towhether the related information corresponding to the retrieval key isretrieved by using the web server 300 as a target on the basis of theoperation instruction performed by the user (act 204).

[0078] When it is instructed by the user that a retrieval is performedby using the web server 300 as a target, a YES determination is made inact 204, and the connection confirmation section 30 notifies the webretrieval section 28 that the retrieval process is permitted. The webretrieval section 28 receiving the notification retrieves the relatedinformation corresponding to the retrieval key by using the web server300 as a target (act 205).

[0079] When it is instructed by the user that the web server 300 is notused as a target, a NO determination is made in act 204. In this case,the process shown in act 205 is not performed.

[0080] When the related information corresponding to the retrieval keyis retrieved, the display processing section 24 creates image data fordisplaying the contents of the extracted related information, anddisplays the image data on the display section 11 (act 206). In thisembodiment, even if the retrieval process by each retrieval section (therelated information retrieval section 22, the external-device retrievalsection 26, and the web retrieval section 28) is not completelyterminated, the extracted related information is displayed in sequence.

[0081] Next, the display processing section 24 determines whether newrelated information is extracted by each retrieval section (act 207).When new related information is extracted, a YES determination is madein act 207, and the display processing section 24 returns to theabove-mentioned act 206, where the newly extracted related informationis added and displayed.

[0082] When the new related information is not extracted, a NOdetermination is made in act 207, and the display processing section 24determines whether or not the retrieval process by each retrievalsection has been completed (act 208). When the retrieval process by eachretrieval section has not been completed, a NO determination is made inact 208. In this case, the process returns to act 207, and processes ofact 207 and subsequent acts are repeated.

[0083] When the retrieval process by each retrieval section iscompleted, a YES determination is made in act 208. In this case, theseries of processes is terminated.

[0084]FIG. 8 shows an example of the display of related information, inwhich related information is extracted by using the artist name “◯◯◯◯”as a retrieval key. As shown in FIG. 8, the related information isdisplayed by being formed into a list in the extracted sequence. Forexample, the first related information of the list shows that thecompressed musical data of the musical piece “Song-A” is stored in theHD drive 140 (in the figure, displayed as “HDD”). Similarly, the secondrelated information of the list shows that a DVD in which the state ofaffairs of a concert (live) is recorded is loaded into the DVD player120 (in the figure, displayed as “DVD”).

[0085] The same applies to the other lists. “ST” in the figure showsrelated information extracted on the basis of the program content datareceived by the receiver 100 a. “MD” shows related information extractedfrom an MD loaded into the MD player 110. “CD” shows related informationextracted from a CD loaded into the CD changer 130. “WEB” shows relatedinformation extracted from the web server 300. “MC” shows relatedinformation extracted from the memory card 152. Furthermore, the fifthrelated information of the list is extracted from the web server 300 andthe information that more detailed information can be downloaded withrespect to this related information is displayed by the display “DL”.Furthermore, as described above, for the list of the relatedinformation, each time each piece of related information is newlyextracted, a list item is added in sequence and the display contents areupdated. In a case where a large amount of related information whichcannot be displayed on one screen is extracted, by performing apredetermined operation instruction using the operation section 10, andother related information is displayed.

[0086]FIG. 9 shows another example of the display of the relatedinformation. As shown in FIG. 9, the related information is classifiedaccording to a category of the retrieval target, and two or three piecesof related information are shown for each category. Furthermore, byspecifying a desired category by performing a predetermined operationusing the operation section 10, a still larger amount of relatedinformation belonging to that category can be viewed.

[0087] In the manner described above, in the receiving system 200 when apredetermined retrieval instruction is given from a user while a programis being received, a predetermined retrieval key is set on the basis ofthe content of the program being received at that time, relatedinformation corresponding to the retrieval key is retrieved from withinprogram content data (incidental information) contained in thedistribution information of another receivable broadcasting channel,related information corresponding to the retrieval key is retrieved byusing an external device such as the MD player 110 or the web server 300which is connected via or the network 400 as a retrieval target, and thecontent of the extracted related information is displayed. Therefore, itis possible to easily obtain the related information corresponding to aretrieval key. In particular, in addition to the distributioninformation of another broadcasting channel, since an external devicesuch as the MD player 110 or the web server 300 which is connected via anetwork is used as a retrieval object, there is an advantage thatvarious kinds of related information can be extracted with a simpleoperation.

[0088] The present invention is not limited to each of theabove-described embodiments, and various modifications are possiblewithin the spirit of the present invention. For example, in each of theabove-described embodiments, when a predetermined retrieval instructionis given, the retrieval key setting section 20 sets the artist name ofthe musical piece provided by a program being received at that time as aretrieval key. However, the contents of the retrieval key are notlimited to this. Furthermore, the contents of the retrieval key may beset as desired by a user by using the operation section 10.

[0089] In the embodiments utilizing receiver 100 a, a retrieval key isset based on the program content data of a broadcasting channel which isreceived by the receiver 100 a, and related information is retrieved.However, the related information may be retrieved on the basis of theoperation status of another external device. For example, when a musicalpiece recorded on an MD is being played back by the MD player 110, aretrieval key, such as the artist name, may be set based on theincidental information of this musical piece, and a retrieval processfor the related information is performed. Similarly, when a process bythe navigation device 150 is being performed, for example, the name ofthe region corresponding to the position of a vehicle may be set as aretrieval key, and related information (for example, the sightseeinginformation stored in the HD drive 140, etc.) is retrieved.

[0090] In the above-described embodiments, when it is determined whetherthe web server 300 is used as a retrieval object, an operationinstruction from a user is requested each time thereof. However, whetherthe web server 300 is used as a retrieval object may be set in advanceby the user.

[0091] Furthermore, in the these embodiments, assuming a case in whichan a payment obligation of a fee occurs during communication via thenetwork 400, a predetermined confirmation process of whether the webserver 300 is used as a retrieval target is performed by the connectionconfirmation section 30. However, during communication via the network400, in a case where a free charge or a fixed charge is set regardingwithin a predetermined range and a payment obligation of an additionalfee occurs when this predetermined range is exceeded, a confirmationprocess by the connection confirmation section 30 may be performedbefore the payment obligation of an additional fee occurs. In this case,a predetermined range in which a payment obligation of an additional feedoes not occur may be set in the connection confirmation section 30, andwhen a retrieval using the web server 300 as a target is to beperformed, the connection confirmation section 30 may determine as towhether a payment obligation of an additional fee occurs. When thepayment obligation of an additional fee occurs, a predeterminedconfirmation screen is displayed so that the intention of the user isconfirmed.

[0092] In each of the above-described embodiments, a case in which adigital audio broadcast is received is assumed. However, the presentinvention is not limited to this case, and can be similarly applied to acase in which various broadcasts, such as a BS digital broadcast and aCS digital broadcast, are received.

[0093] In each of the above-described embodiments, a case of anon-vehicle receiver and an on-vehicle receiving system is assumed.However, the to applicable scope of the present invention is not limitedto these, and the present invention can also be applied to a householdreceiver and a household receiving system.

[0094] The present discussed embodiments demonstrate that where relatedinformation corresponding to a retrieval key using the distributioninformation of a plurality of broadcasting channels, received by areceiver, as a target, is retrieved, the related informationcorresponding to the retrieval key may be retrieved from incidentalinformation corresponding to one or more broadcasting channels by simplyspecifying the predetermined retrieval key, and the contents aredisplayed. Therefore, it is possible to easily obtain the relatedinformation corresponding to the predetermined retrieval key.

1. A receiver for retrieving content related information from aplurality of broadcasting channels, said receiver comprising: areceiving section operable to receive said distribution informationcontaining program information and incidental information from saidplurality of broadcasting channels; an operation section operable todesignate a retrieval key inputted by a user; a retrieval sectionoperable to identify broadcasting channels with incidental informationcontaining said retrieval key, retrieve one or more broadcastingchannels with incidental information containing said retrieval key, andretrieve content related information from said one or more broadcastingchannels with incidental information containing said retrieval key; anda display section for displaying the content of said content relatedinformation.
 2. The receiver of claim 1, wherein said retrieval sectionretrieves content related information from each of said one or morebroadcasting channels containing said retrieval key.
 3. The receiver ofclaim 1, wherein said incidental information contains an artist, saidcontent related information contains works of said artist, and saiddisplay section displays said works of said artist when the name of saidartist is specified as said retrieval key.
 4. A receiving systemcomprising: a receiver for retrieving content related information from aplurality of broadcasting channels, said receiver comprising a receivingsection operable to receive said distribution information containingprogram information and incidental information from said plurality ofbroadcasting channels, an operation section operable to designate aretrieval key inputted by a user, a retrieval section operable toidentify broadcasting channels with incidental information containingsaid retrieval key, retrieve one or more broadcasting channels withincidental information containing said retrieval key, and retrievecontent related information from said one or more broadcasting channelswith incidental information containing said retrieval key, and a displaysection for displaying the content of said content related information;and an external device including a recording medium having saidincidental information stored thereon, wherein said retrieval section isoperable to retrieve said content related information from saiddistribution information received by said receiver, and from saidincidental information stored in said storage medium within saidexternal device.
 5. The receiving system of claim 4, further comprisinga database containing said incidental information, which is connected tosaid receiver via a predetermined network, wherein said retrievalsection is operable to retrieve said content related information fromsaid distribution information received by said receiver and from saiddatabase.
 6. The receiving system of claim 5, wherein said predeterminednetwork is the Internet.
 7. The receiving system of claim 5, whereinsaid display section displays said content related information retrievedby said retrieval section in order of time of retrieval.
 8. Thereceiving system of claim 5, further comprising: a confirmation sectionfor asking a user to confirm the capability of a retrieval before saidcontent related information is retrieved from said database when apayment obligation of a fee occurs during communication via saidnetwork, wherein said retrieval section retrieves said content relatedinformation from said database when the execution of a retrieval isinstructed by said confirmation section.
 9. The receiving system ofclaim 5, further comprising: a confirmation section for asking a user toconfirm the capability of a retrieval of said content relatedinformation from said database before the payment obligation of anadditional fee occurs in a case where a free charge or a fixed charge isset regarding within a predetermined range and a payment obligation ofan additional fee occurs when this predetermined range is exceededduring communication via said network, wherein said retrieval sectionretrieves said content related information from said database only whenthe execution of a retrieval is instructed by said confirmation sectionin a case where said predetermined range is exceeded.
 10. The receivingsystem of claim 4, further comprising: a database containing saidincidental information, which is connected to said receiver via apredetermined network, wherein said retrieval section is operable toretrieve said content related information from said distributioninformation received by said receiver, from said incidental informationstored in said storage medium within said external device, and from saiddatabase.
 11. The receiving system of claim 10, wherein saidpredetermined network is the Internet.
 12. The receiving system of claim10, wherein said display section displays said content relatedinformation retrieved by said retrieval section in order of time ofretrieval.
 13. The receiving system of claim 10, further comprising: aconfirmation section for asking a user to confirm the capability of aretrieval before said content related information is retrieved from saiddatabase when a payment obligation of a fee occurs during communicationvia said network, wherein said retrieval section retrieves said contentrelated information from said database when the execution of a retrievalis instructed by said confirmation section.
 14. The receiving system ofclaim 10, further comprising: a confirmation section for asking a userto confirm the capability of a retrieval of said content relatedinformation from said database before the payment obligation of anadditional fee occurs in a case where a free charge or a fixed charge isset regarding within a predetermined range and a payment obligation ofan additional fee occurs when this predetermined range is exceededduring communication via said network, wherein said retrieval sectionretrieves said content related information from said database only whenthe execution of a retrieval is instructed by said confirmation sectionin a case where said predetermined range is exceeded.
 15. A receivingmethod for retrieving content related information corresponding to aretrieval key by using distribution information of a plurality ofbroadcasting channels received, said receiving method comprising theacts of: receiving said distribution information containing programinformation and incidental information; designating a retrieval key;identifying broadcasting channels having incidental informationincluding said retrieval key retrieving content related information fromat least one of said broadcasting channels having said incidentalinformation including said retrieval key; and displaying said contentrelated information from at least one of said broadcasting channelshaving incidental information including said retrieval key.
 16. Areceiving method of claim 15, wherein said act of retrieving contentrelated information includes retrieving content related information fromeach of said broadcasting channels having incidental informationincluding said retrieval key.
 17. A receiving method of claim 15,wherein said incidental information contains an artist, said contentrelated information contains works of said artist, and said displaysection displays said works of said artist when the name of said artistis specified as said retrieval key
 18. A receiving method of claim 15,further comprising the acts of: storing said incidental information on astorage medium; and retrieving said content related information fromsaid received distribution information and from said storage medium. 19.A receiving method of claim 15, further comprising the acts of:connecting to a database containing said incidental information via apredetermined network; and retrieving said content related informationfrom said received distribution information and from said database as atarget.
 20. The receiving method of claim 19 wherein said predeterminednetwork is the Internet.
 21. A receiving method according to claim 15,further comprising the acts of: storing said incidental information on astorage medium; connecting to a database containing said incidentalinformation via a predetermined network; and retrieving said contentrelated information from said received distribution information, fromsaid incidental information stored on said storage medium, and from saiddatabase.
 22. A receiving method according to claim 19, wherein saidretrieved content related information is displayed in order of time ofretrieval.
 23. A receiving method according to claim 19, furthercomprising: the act of asking a user to confirm the capability of aretrieval before said content related information is retrieved from saiddatabase when a payment obligation of a fee occurs during communicationvia said network, wherein, when the confirmation result instructs theexecution of a retrieval, said content related information is retrievedfrom said database as a target.
 24. A receiving method according toclaim 19, further comprising: the act of asking a user to confirm thecapability of a retrieval of said content related information from saiddatabase before a payment obligation of an additional fee occurs in acase where a free charge or a fixed charge is set regarding within apredetermined range and a payment obligation of an additional fee occurswhen this predetermined range is exceeded during communication via saidnetwork, wherein, when said predetermined range is exceeded, saidcontent related information is retrieved from said database only whenthe confirmation result instructs the execution of a retrieval.